The Race
by angelchica
Summary: Wesley gets kidnapped and its up to Angel, Cordelia, and Gunn to race cars! a/c pairing! y'all know me!!!


Title: The Race  
  
Author: Angelchica  
  
Email: mistyblue622@hotmail.com  
  
Summary: When Wesley gets kidnapped again, the only way to get him back is if Angel, Cordelia, and Gunn, race cars! (you all asked me to write more a/c so here I am to please you guys!)  
  
Spoiler: None really  
  
Disclaimer: Ok, ok y'all know these characters do not belong to me, they belong to joss except for the Sorcabab demons. I made them up so obviously they are mine but I wouldn't mind exchanging the demons for angel? Sounds like a deal!  
  
Feedback: Ok, you know that I love hearing your reviews! So please review!  
  
  
  
It was a quiet, hot day in the city that never sleeps. Business had been pretty slow for the past couple of days but they all knew better. Wesley and Gunn were at the couch watching a football game. Cordelia was over by the computer just surfing the net while Angel was filling up some cups with coffee. Angel walked over to Cordelia.  
  
"Hey. Want some coffee?" Angel asked.  
  
"Angel, you do realize that it is like steaming hot in here and out there and that this weather isn't doing anything good for my hair and not to mention all the pores this heat is opening up," Cordelia said. Angel just laughed at her. Cordelia, Cordelia, he thought. His Cordelia. She was the only one that ever made him smile. Cordelia looked up at Angel and smiled.  
  
"I just love it when you do that!" Cordelia said with a big smile.  
  
"What? Bring you coffee when it is like 100 degrees in here?" Angel asked.  
  
"No silly! When you smile! You really need to do that more often!" Cordelia said as she stood up next to him.  
  
"Why? What's so good about smiling?"  
  
"You look more alive, even if you are dead, but that's not the point. I mean I would rather be happy than depressed all the time," Cordelia said.  
  
"That's not a good enough reason," Angel said.  
  
"Well then maybe this one is," Cordelia said as she saw Angel's face and knew he was waiting to see what was the best she had. "You make me feel happy and give me energy when I see you smile. And that's a good thing," Cordelia said. Angel smiled again but then he saw Cordelia's smile fade quickly and saw that she lifted her hand to her head and moaned as she almost fell to the ground if it hadn't been for Angel who held her up.  
  
"Wesley! Gunn!" Angel yelled out. Right when they got there, Wesley had a notepad and a pen while Gunn was holding some Advil. The visions were still taking too much out of Cordelia. Angel watched Cordelia as she fought the pain the visions gave her. Angel wished he could take away the pain from his delicate Seer but he couldn't. He knew Cordelia went through with this for him. Finally, the vision seemed to have gone away. Cordelia just stayed on the floor while being held in Angel's arms.  
  
"Demons. Lots of them. They are green and hideous. They shoot some kind of slimy goo," Cordelia paused as Gunn handed her some Advil, "through their mouth. It's really slimy and steaming hot," Cordelia managed to finish as she swallowed the pill.  
  
"Do you know where?" Wesley asked her.  
  
"Yeah, over by State and 15th street," Cordelia said.  
  
"Then let's go," Gunn said as he and Wesley got up but were stopped by Angel.  
  
"No! Don't!" Angel yelled.  
  
"Why?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"Don't you guys know what happens there every Friday night at 11,"Angel asked. Gunn knew immediately what Angel was talking about.  
  
"Racing," Gunn said.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Now you guys know the plan. These Sorcabab demons are serious business. We can't afford to confront them without following the plan," Angel said as he saw Cordelia and Gunn nod their heads but then looked over at Wesley.  
  
"Wesley?" Angel called out to him.  
  
"Yeah, alright, I just don't think it's right that you get to make all the decisions when you're not the one in charge anymore," Wesley said with a hint of jealousy.  
  
"Oh, and you have a better idea? Well why didn't you tell me? Go on, tell me what we should do," Angel said as he looked over at Wesley trying not to lift his gaze up to much from the road. Wesley just kept quiet. Ever since his whole epiphany and all, the gang still was scared that maybe one day he would turn over again. But Cordelia and Gunn seemed to be doing better about the whole idea that he was once again Angel but Wesley still seemed a bit resentful. Then all of a sudden, Angel pulled over.  
  
"What are you doing? State street is still two blocks away!" Cordelia yelled.  
  
"What were you expecting? To go over to the intersection where all the demons are and just go right in the middle and go 'Hi! I'm Cordelia and I just wanted to say that you're cars are so squeaky clean that I can see my beautiful reflection on it?" Gunn said to Cordelia as he imitated her voice.  
  
"I don't sound like that!" Cordelia yelled out to him.  
  
"Guys!" Angel yelled out, "Can we please just get out of the car and head on our way! We are wasting time."  
  
"Alright! Alright!" Cordelia yelled, "I just wish you would have told me we were going to be walking so much, otherwise I would have worn my flats!" All the guys just rolled their eyes and Angel had a smile on his face. That was his Cordelia. Always making comments that she took seriously but no one else did. As soon as they were almost at the corner of 15th and State, Angel stopped and turned to face his team.  
  
"Alright. You all know the plan. Please be careful!" Angel said as they started to part. By now they could see a whole bunch of the Sorcabab demons by their gorgeous racing cars. Cordelia was astonished to see all the cars and fell in love with them.  
  
"Angel!" Wesley yelled.  
  
"Wesley! I told you not to yell out! These demons have great hearing senses!" Angel said sternly.  
  
"Sorry! At least they didn't hear me!" Wesley said but then immediately regretted having said anything.  
  
"Wanna bet!" a Sorcabab demon yelled out. Everybody turned around to face the demons.   
  
"Well so much for plan A," Cordelia said.  
  
"I'm guessing we go to plan B," Gunn said.  
  
"I guess so," Angel replied as they all took out their weapons and started to fight. A whole bunch of demons went towards him. Angel fought them and was happy that he knew how to defeat them. He took out his long iron sword and decapitated the demon and went on to the others. Gunn was fighting off some demons and he himself grabbed his iron sword and left a demon headless. He could see the Wesley was having some trouble with a demon so he went over to help him. Angel looked over and saw Cordelia trying to fight a demon. She had actually matured a bit in her moves but was still not perfect. Just as she was about to get her iron sword out, the Sorcabab caught her off guard and threw her up against a tree where she almost lost conscious. When Angel saw this he ran over to where Cordelia was. Cordelia tried to get up but couldn't and saw the demon nearing her with the sword in his hand ready to plunge the sword into her. She screamed but then the demon was pushed over to the other side. Angel had tackled the demon to the ground and then called out to Gunn. Gunn turned around and grabbed his sword and ran behind the demon.  
  
"Hey, you might want to turn around," Angel said.  
  
"Yeah right," the demon said.  
  
"Well, I tried," Angel said as he got the demon off of him and then Gunn sliced the demon's head off.  
  
"Thanks," Angel said thankfully.  
  
"No problem," Gunn said as Angel ran to Cordelia's side.  
  
"Hey, you alright?" Angel asked her as he helped her up.  
  
"Yeah," she replied, "only that my back feels like it hit a tree but oh wait! It did," Cordelia said with a smile.  
  
"Hey, where's Wesley?" Cordelia asked. The three of them looked around and no trace of him was found. Then Angel looked up at one of the building's and saw a Sorcabab holding Wesley.  
  
"Angel!" Wesley yelled.  
  
"Angel! If you want this loser back, you know what you have to do. Be back here in twenty minutes and ready," the demon yelled out.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Angel, Gunn, and Cordelia entered the hotel.   
  
"Man! I can't believe that Wesley got kidnapped again! This is the third time this week!" Gunn yelled out.  
  
"Angel, what was that Sorcabab thing talking about?" Cordelia asked Angel.  
  
"You're not going to do it are you? I mean you're not ready for it," Gunn said as Angel looked at him.  
  
"Angel! That thing said you knew what to do. What was he talking about?" Cordelia asked impatiently.  
  
"I have to race against them in order to get Wesley back. If I win, then I get him back but if I don't-" Angel was interrupted.  
  
"If you don't what? What will happen to Wesley?" Cordelia asked. Angel looked at Cordelia.   
  
"They will keep him and torture him for as long as they want to or until they get tired of him."  
  
"And then what?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"What do you think?" Gunn asked Cordelia. Angel could see the worried look on Cordelia's face. He got up and went over to her and put his hands on her shoulders.  
  
"We're going to get him back, Cordy, I promise," Angel said. Cordelia gave a small smile and let Angel hug her.  
  
"So you're going to race with that thing you have parked up front?" Gunn asked Angel.   
  
"Well, It's fast but not fast enough so I thought I might use an old friend of mine," Angel said as he saw the confused looks on Cordelia and Gunn's face. They went over to the hotel's storage and in there were two huge objects covered by a sheet. Angel neared them and uncovered the objects. There was a yellow and an orange race car in front of them.  
  
"Oh my God!" Gunn yelled in astonishment. Cordelia just looked at the cars. Never lifting her gaze from the beautiful, yellow race car in front of her eyes.  
  
"Angel, where did you get these from?" Cordelia asked the vampire.  
  
"Oh, I just had it here just in case I would ever need it," Angel said.  
  
"What's that?" Gunn asked as he approached another object covered with a sheet. He uncovered the object and sure enough it was another race car only this time it was black.  
  
"That one is much older but a lot more faster. It's a one of a kind," Angel said.  
  
"Angel, you've raced with these guys before haven't you?" Cordelia asked Angel as she look down at the car and sure enough could see her reflection on it.  
  
"Yeah. That's how I know the consequences. They make it seem something but at the end it turns out to be something totally different," Angel said as he looked down at the car.  
  
"Can I drive the yellow one?" Cordelia asked.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The three cars pulled up at the corner of 15th and State. Gunn descended the orange race car. Cordelia came out of the yellow one and Angel came out of the black one. The Sorcabab leader came up to Angel.  
  
"Wow! The orange and yellow one are a beauty but I didn't think you still had this one. Especially after-"  
  
"Can we just get this over with?" Angel asked as he looked over and saw Wesley who looked so scared.  
  
"Alright. The rules are pretty much the same. You have three chances but since you brought you're friends along they all get a chance too. First the boy and then the girl" the demon said.  
  
"No. You leave them out of it," Angel said sternly.  
  
"Fine then. Kill the human!" the demon yelled.  
  
"No!" Cordelia yelled. "We'll race! We'll race!"   
  
"Fine! Get ready," the demon said as he left them and climbed into his car and drove it to the starting line. Angel walked over to Gunn and Cordelia. He noticed that Gunn had already climbed into the orange car.  
  
"I don't want you guys racing. It's too dangerous," Angel said to them.  
  
"Look finally I get to speed as much as I want without worrying about police. Don't worry about it. I got my license revoked for speeding. I'll win this thing," Gunn said as he drove away. Gunn arrived at the starting line. He looked at his opponent and then in front of him.  
  
"Alright. Let's see what this baby's got," Gunn said to himself. Angel and Cordelia got to the line and were among the audience. The one of the Sorcabab demons got in between the two cars.  
  
"The first one to cross this line is the winner. On you're marks," the demon yelled, "Get set." By now the engines were at full blast ready to be used.   
  
"Go!" And the two cars sped away. At first the two cars were tied. Neither one seemed to be stalling but then the demon sped away. The orange car seemed to not be able to handle it. But Gunn was never that far behind.  
  
"Go faster!" Gunn yelled out to the car but it was too late. The demon had won the race. Gunn pulled over to Angel and Cordelia.  
  
"I'm sorry guys!"  
  
"It's ok," Angel said. Gunn left to go park the car somewhere else.  
  
"Guess it's my turn," Cordelia said.  
  
"Cordelia don't do this," Angel pleaded.  
  
"Angel, I want to save Wesley's life and this is the way to do it," Cordelia said as she opened the car door but was stopped by Angel.  
  
"Cordelia, please, don't get in the car."  
  
"Angel, what happened the last time you raced?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"There was an accident and I lost my partner. The demons cheated and they made him lose control. He died. That's why I don't want you racing. I don't want to lose you," Angel said softly as he looked at her eyes. Cordelia looked back into his.  
  
"I'm not going to die," Cordelia said as she moved his hand from the car door and got in. "Wish me luck or better yet, smile for me. That's my good luck charm. You're smile," Cordelia said. Angel just looked at her. He couldn't smile. Something inside him didn't let him. He was scared. He didn't want anything happening to her. Cordelia looked down at herself and was hurt that he didn't smile for her.  
  
"Well then, I guess I'll just picture it," she said as she tried to fake a smile but then looked down and sped away with a hurt look on her face.  
  
"Be careful!" Angel yelled out. Cordelia made it to the starting line and took a look at her opponent who was looking right at her.  
  
"Man, if I wasn't a demon, I would so have you do me," the perverted demon said.  
  
"Man, I'm so sorry that you have no sex life or looks because if you did, you wouldn't have to worry about doing a human. And obviously-"  
  
"On your marks," the demon started.  
  
"Your fellow female demons must not want to do you," Cordelia said as she was interrupted again as her engine started to sound.  
  
"Get set!"  
  
"Because if they did, you wouldn't be asking me to do you. Oh, and, don't hold back," Cordelia said.  
  
"Go!" And with that Cordelia pushed the accelerator as far as it could go. The demon stalled a bit but then sped on forward. Cordelia was in the lead.  
  
"Whoa!" Cordelia yelled with a big smile on her face.  
  
"She's actually winning!" Gunn yelled to Angel who had a concerned look on his face. Cordelia was speeding right ahead but the demon wasn't far behind. The demon was getting mad and she could sense it but she wasn't holding back. She was going to give it her all to prove to everyone that she could do it. She could see the starting line now. She was smiling. She was about to win. She looked over to the demon and saw some goo hanging from his mouth. It looked like the slimy stuff she saw in her vision. Then she saw the demon shoot it out towards her tires. She started to lose control of it. She tried to keep her hands on the steering wheel. Then she saw the other car come closer to her and it pushed her hard but she kept going. By now she was scared. Then she saw the demon blow her a kiss and then he hit her car which sent her flying out of the course. The car tumble and did a couple of turns before it came to a complete stop.  
  
"Cordelia!" Angel yelled out as he ran to the car with Gunn close behind him. He looked in the car and saw Cordelia. She was unconscious and badly bruised.  
  
"We have to get her out of there! The car is going to explode!" Angel yelled out to Gunn. The car was completely totaled and the driver didn't look too good herself. "Hurry! It can explode in any minute!" Angel yelled out to Gunn. Wesley just looked from a side since he couldn't break free from the demon. Finally, Angel got a hold of her arms and pulled her out. He got her up and carried her out from the car. They started to run fast and before they knew it, they heard a large explosion. Angel turned and looked down at Cordelia.   
  
"We have to call an ambulance!" Angel yelled.  
  
"I've got the cell in the car. I'll go call," Gunn said as he sped away.  
  
"It's going to be okay Cordelia," he said to her as if she could hear him but then she woke up. She started moaning and could barely open her eyes.  
  
"Cordy?" Angel called out to her.  
  
"Angel?" Cordelia managed to whisper out. "What happened?"  
  
"Don't worry about it. Just rest," Angel said as he held her.  
  
"Did I win?" she asked the vampire. Before he could answer, Gunn came back.  
  
"Are they coming?" Angel asked Gunn.  
  
"No, not until the race is over," the Sorcabab said as he came from behind Gunn.  
  
"But she needs to go to the hospital! She is seriously hurt," Angel said.  
  
"Then we better get this race started. The sooner we start, the sooner you can take the girl to the hospital," the demon said as it headed towards the starting line. Angel just stared at the demon.   
  
"Gunn, take the car and take her to the hospital," Angel said.  
  
"Alright," Gunn said as he knelt down, about to pick up Cordelia.  
  
"What are you doing?" the Sorcabab asked.  
  
"He's going to take her to the hospital," Angel said.  
  
"No, neither of you can leave. The point is that if you lose this race, you and your friends go down with you," the Sorcabab said, "Come on, I don't have all night." Angel didn't know what to do. He couldn't lose the race. If he did, he would never forgive himself.  
  
"Gunn, take her to the car and wait for me there. I won't lose this race," Angel said as he got up and followed the demon to the starting line. Angel climbed into his car and waited for one of the follower demons to start the race.  
  
"You know, I'm going to have a lot of fun beating you again. That was a beautiful race we had back then and that friend of yours-" the Sorcabab was interrupted.  
  
"I'm going to beat you and you're going to pay for what you did to-"  
  
"Look don't make me cry. You lost the race for the both of you only you're friend had it worse. You weren't able to save him from the explosion. You weren't quick enough. You were lucky with the girl. But luck don't happen twice in a row," the Sorcabab said.  
  
"On your marks, get set," one of the demons started to call out.  
  
"Well I know for a fact that it does," Angel said.  
  
"Go!" And they were off. The two of them were neck at neck. Not one was slowing down or going faster. The Sorcabab looked at Angel and Angel did the same. Angel saw that the demon was preparing to shoot out the goo from his mouth but Angel wasn't quick enough. The goo hit the tires and Angel tried to keep control of the car. He sensed that the demon wasn't done just yet. Angel could see the finish line and he could see the other car getting closer. He knew the demon wanted to do the same thing to him as Cordelia but he was ready for it. Right when Angel saw him coming, he pushed the brakes and the demon with his car went flying over to the other side. The car hit the wall and the car flew up in flames. Angel hit the accelerator and crossed the finish line in first place.  
  
As soon as he came to a complete stop he headed over to where Cordelia and Gunn were.   
  
"How is she?" Angel asked.  
  
"She's doing better but we still have to take care of those wounds," Gunn said.  
  
"I have to go get Wesley," Angel said. Angel made his way towards where Wesley and some of the demons were. The demons unhanded Wesley and then started to go their own way. Little by little, all the cars started to roll out. Angel and Wesley went over to the car where Gunn and Cordelia already were and went to the hospital.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A couple of days past and Cordelia was feeling better. She was still a little bruised up but she would manage. Then she saw Angel come in her bedroom  
  
"Hey," he said.  
  
"Hey. I'm sorry for ruining your car," Cordelia said.  
  
"That's the least thing that worried me. As long as you're okay then everything else is," Angel said as he saw Cordelia smile.  
  
"I almost won. Hey I would have won!" she said cheerfully. Angel looked at her. They were in silence for a couple of minutes.  
  
"I almost lost you there Cordelia," Angel said.  
  
"Almost, but you didn't," she said.  
  
"I don't know what I would have done if I would have lost you. You are very special to me," Angel said.  
  
"You are too. Thanks for everything. I don't know what I would do without you," Cordelia said.  
  
"Hey, well do you think that maybe when you get better we can, I don't know, go celebrate and have dinner," Angel said.  
  
"Well, I don't know. I mean I feel pretty beat up," she said as she tried to get up from bed. Angel went over to her side and helped her up.  
  
"Thank you," Cordelia said and gave him a hug, "But I think I can make an exception. I would be honored to go with you."  
  
"Really?" Angel asked a bit shocked at her response.  
  
"Yeah, but on one condition."  
  
"Anything," Angel said.  
  
"That you smile for me," Cordelia said with a big smile which then made Angel smile.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
